I know that what I just said is a big claim, but I promise you that it is true and I will prove it. You see, 10 years ago I was where you are now. Looking for a safe country and then a safe place within that country to ride out a storm that I saw on the horizon. This was not a hurricane or severe tropical storm I was expecting, but something much more devastating and long lasting. You see, 10 years ago I was expecting an economic depression the like’s of which no one in our lifetime had ever experienced. So I started searching the world for just the right place to ride out the coming storm.


My research and travels took me all over Latin America and in 1998 I finally found just what I was looking for in a little known town in the Panama highlands called Boquete. There are a number of reasons why I chose Panama and even more why I chose this part of the province of Chiriqui in which to ride out this storm. My criteria included privacy issues, taxes, politics, religion, population, agronomy and a number of other aspects of society. You can click here to learn more about them, but let me continue to tell my story of the building of this very special community I named Valle Escondido, or Hidden Valley, and why I believe it is your best choice if you are seeking shelter from the coming depression.


This is not an ordinary community like you might find just about anywhere else in the world. They all advertise great homes and amenities, but none of them were selected, planned and developed with an endgame as the central focus. The location, weather, topography, and every other facet of the project was built with a “what if” scenario in mind. What if there was no electricity? So we build our own hydro-electric plant. What if there were food shortages? So we live in the bread basket of Panama and even have our own vegetable gardens. What if there was no water? So we have our own springs supplying 200,000 gallons a day of clear fresh water. What if there was social unrest? So we build the project near a small friendly agricultural community within an impenetrable valley and we train our own security team to protect it.  All of these “what ifs” were considered along with many more.

But I was not looking to build a fortress with high fences and armed guards in some remote local where access to the better things in life are not available. There had to be a lot of “must haves” and my list of must haves meant pleasing the women in our lives. I wanted a combination of Shangri-La, John Galt’s hidden valley in Atlas Shrugged and Aspen Colorado in the summer.

I wanted all of the amenities that were available in the first world and I wanted to have access to things, which required the building not only of Valle Escondido, but the development of the Boquete community as well. It would also require significant economic growth of the entire province so that those “must have” things would exist without my having to build them all.


Within Valle Escondido I wanted a small hotel, golf course, spa, fitness center, restaurants, tennis, racquetball, swimming pools and country club. We had to have high speed Internet, cable and satellite TV with English channels. Not far away we needed a regional airport, private hospitals, shopping centers, grocery stores, car dealerships and all of the other things we first worlder’s have become so accustom to.


So, with all this in mind in 2001 I began the construction of Valle Escondido and within 7 short years all of these other “must haves” have come to fruition. There were many challenges in building a project of this magnitude in the middle of nowhere, but sticking with my vision, fortitude, and deep pockets, I persevered and was able to complete the project before the economic tsunami hit. All of the “what ifs” and “must haves” are already in place so you don’t have to wait and hope they will come sometime in the distant future. Besides, you really don’t have a lot of time. The tsunami has come ashore which is probably why you are here, right now at this website.


Now I can come out of the closet and share my story without sounding like a madman and offer you an opportunity to share in my vision and foresight to create a safe haven in a very stormy sea. Take a look at our special community and see the incredible opportunity of lots, new homes, condominiums and resale properties. Find out why over 130 families have already made the decision to move to Valle Escondido and why you should too. And if you want to come for a few days or a month and just visit we have special rates in our resort to accommodate you. If you want to rent a home or apartment for a time to be sure that this is the right place for you, we have them available too.


If you would like to keep up with the investment climate of Panama and the world from John Galt’s point of view, go here to sign up to receive a weekly email of articles and commentary by yours truly,

Sam Taliaferro  AKA John Galt.

Hi, my name is John Galt. If you have found this website you are probably not looking for an ordinary residential community, you are seeking something more. If you will spend the next ten minutes reading this first page, it may well be the start of something that will change the course of your life forever. It could be that what you will learn right here on this page will intrigue you to look deeper into my story, and if you do, you may end up taking a path that thousands of other have already taken.